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Address to the American People on the Affairs of Kansas, pamphlet
Date: 1857
This address recounted the history and purpose of the formation of the Kansas State Government of Topeka, in peaceful opposition to that of the Territory. The free state message accused the systems of the Territorial Government of encouraging influence from abroad in their election process, and indicated that they had nothing inherently against Missouri's citizens as a whole, but implored that they not attempt to violate the rights of Kansas settlers. The address stated that the Territory was "organized for defence" by a pledge from Governor Walker, and appealed that outsiders remain in their homes for the benefit of all.

African American school, Grasshopper Falls, Kansas
Date: Between 1920s and 1930s
This photograph shows a group of African American students and their teachers standing in front of the "first black school in Kansas," according to the handwritten caption on the back of the image. (This statement is incorrect.) The structure was located in Grasshopper Falls which is present day Valley Falls, Kansas.

General Order No. 10
Creator: Kansas. Militia
Date: August 29, 1861
General Order No. 10, dated August 29, 1861, addresses the formation and organization of the Kansas Home Guard regiment created after the issuance of Major General John C. Fremont's General Order No. 9. It also lists the superintendents who will oversee the organization of the companies from Leavenworth, Atchison, White Cloud, Hiawatha, Grasshopper Falls, Junction City, Topeka, Emporia, Lawrence, and Wyandotte. In addition, General Order No. 10 mentions that Colonel W.R. Judon, of Fort Scott, is raising another regiment of Home Guards in which loyal Kansans may serve.

History of Kansas and emigrant's guide
Creator: Chapman, J. Butler
Date: 1855
The title page of the printed volume indicated that it contained "a description geographical and topographical--also climate, soil, productions and comparative value with other states and territories, including its political history, officers-candidates-emigrant colonies-election, abolition, squatter and pro-slavery contentions and inquisitions; with the prospects of the territory for freedom or slavery." Mr. Chapman was a resident of the territory and the information in the booklet was compiled by traveling through Kansas Territory in 1854. The description covers most of the territory and includes information about Native American tribes and lands.

Kansas and Nebraska Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Minutes of the Third Session
Creator: Methodist Episcopal Church. Kansas and Nebraska Conference
Date: April 15-19, 1858
The annual conference was held in Topeka, Kansas Territory from April 15 through 19, 1858. The minutes included the names of those attending as well as the business conducted. It listed the various ministerial appointments in Kansas and Nebraska as well as the membership of the committees. The minutes reported on educational efforts at Baker University and Blue Mount Central College. It contained information on the church's stand on slavery and temperance. The constitution of the Kansas and Nebraska Conference Missionary Society was included in the report as were statistics for the various churches.

Lewis Stafford to Kate Newland
Creator: Stafford, Lewis
Date: March 26, 1861-January 24, 1863
These letters are from a larger collection of Civil War letters written by Lewis Stafford of Grasshopper Falls, Kansas, to his girlfriend Kate Newland, also of Grasshopper Falls and later Lecompton and Topeka. Stafford served in Company E of the 1st Kansas Infantry as a Lieutenant and then a Captain. The regiment was formed at Fort Leavenworth. The headings on the letters are from various locations and give a sense of where his regiment was stationed. The locations include Fort Leavenworth, KS; Chillicothe, MO; Tipton, MO; Lawrence, KS; Fort Scott, KS; Fort Riley, KS; Trenton, TN; Corinth, MS; Grand Junction, TN; and on the Mississippi River. Almost all of the letters include expressions of his feelings for Miss Newland and he conveys his emotions about her quite eloquently. Many of the letters describe the movement of the regiment from this place to that, the social life (including mentions of drunkenness) in the Kansas towns where they are staying--particularly after pay was received, and rumors about where they would be sent. Others include his impressions of the areas through which they were traveling and details of his day-to-day military activities. Stafford died in a logging accident on January 31, 1863, at Young's Point, Louisiana. For the present, the scanned transcripts follow the handwritten letters.

Lewis Stafford to Kate Newland correspondence
Creator: Stafford, Lewis, d. 1863
Date: March 1861-January 1863
Civil War letters written by Lewis Stafford of Grasshopper Falls, Kansas, to his girlfriend Kate Newland, also of Grasshopper Falls and later Lecompton and Topeka. Stafford served in Company E of the 1st Kansas Infantry as a Lieutenant and then a Captain. The regiment was formed at Fort Leavenworth. The headings on the letters are from various locations and give a sense of where his regiment was stationed. The locations include Fort Leavenworth, KS; Chillicothe, MO; Tipton, MO; Lawrence, KS; Fort Scott, KS; Fort Riley, KS; Trenton, TN; Corinth, MS; Grand Junction, TN; and on the Mississippi River. Almost all of the letters include expressions of his feelings for Miss Newland and he conveys his emotions about her quite eloquently. Many of the letters describe the movement of the regiment from this place to that, the social life (including mentions of drunkenness) in the Kansas towns where they are staying--particularly after pay was received, and rumors about where they would be sent. Others include his impressions of the areas through which they were traveling and details of his day-to-day military activities. Stafford died in a logging accident on January 31, 1863, at Young's Point, Louisiana.

Memoranda of Stock in Towns
Creator: Reeder, Andrew H. (Andrew Horatio), 1807-1864
Date: [1855]
This document was an undated "Mem. Of Stock in Towns," which appeared to have been written in longhand by Reeder himself and included the number of shares he had purchased (and how they were acquired) in fifteen different towns: Leavenworth, Pawnee, Tecumseh, Marysville, Lecompton, Montgomery (Dickinson Co.), Reeder (Dickinson Co.), Richmond, Whitfield (Shawnee Co.), Topeka, Douglas, Omaha City, Chetolah (Davis/Geary Co.), Grasshopper Falls, and Easton. Interestingly, he held thirty-four shares in Pawnee, his most famous (or infamous) investment venture, but he had thirty-six shares in Montgomery, twenty in Douglas and there appears to be a good number in Omaha City.

Power of Attorney from Andrew H. Reeder to John A. Halderman
Creator: Reeder, Andrew H. (Andrew Horatio), 1807-1864
Date: April 27, 1857
Andrew H. Reeder grants his "Power of Attorney" to John A. Halderman, who had served him faithfully in various capacities since 1854, via this notarized, handwritten document dated April 27, 1857. It specifically details what such power meant in terms of the property holdings Reeder had in Kansas Territory, etc.

Receipt Book, October-November, 1856
Creator: Kansas State Central Committee
Date: October 30, 1856
This Kansas Central Committee receipt book was one of several in which the committee recorded the various monies, provisions, clothing, etc., that were distributed throughout the Kansas Territory. Many of the items of clothing are specifically listed for children (e.g., "1 girls calico dress" and "1 pair boys woolen pants"), and many items were received by individuals for distribution among the needy of their particular area.

Report of a Trip to Kansas
Creator: Arny, W. F. M. (William Frederick Milton), 1813-1881
Date: October 20, 1856
William F. M. Arny was the general agent of the National Kansas Committee. This report describes the "wants and sufferings" of settlers in Kansas Territory. It includes references to border ruffians, land sales, and the suffering in various districts of Kansas. He requests that aid be sent to the Kansas Central Committee.

Samuel Clarke Pomeroy to Thaddeus Hyatt
Creator: Pomeroy, S. C. (Samuel Clarke), 1816-1891
Date: October 10, 1860
In this letter, S. C. Pomeroy wrote from Atchison, Kansas to Thaddeus Hyatt, president of the National Kansas Committee. The letter revolved around the suffering of the settlers and their desperate search for provisions and employment. Pomeroy also mentioned the prospect of obtaining a large amount of buffalo meat, as well as the failed corn crop and the generally destitute condition of the settlers. He truly feared for the lives of the settlers during the upcoming winter.

Shareholders in the Topeka and St. Joseph Railroad Company
Creator: Topeka and St. Joseph Railroad Company
Date: Around 1858
Prepared by the temporary treasurer [perhaps Franklin Crane], this list identified the individuals who pledged capital to the Topeka and St. Joseph Railroad Company, the number of shares each held, and the communities each represented.

T. J. Marsh to George L. Stearns
Creator: Marsh, Thomas J.
Date: August 27, 1857
In this letter from Lawrence, Kansas Territory, Marsh reports that despite opposition from Judge Martin Conway, the delegates at the Grasshopper Falls Convention on August 26 "voted to go into the [October] Election with all the power they have." The stage was set for the campaign that needed all the financial support Stearns's committee could give it through Marsh.

Territory of Kansas and Indian Territory
Creator: Johnston, Alexander Keith, 1804-1871
Date: 1857
This map, drawn by Henry Rogers and Alexander Keith Johnston in 1857, details Kansas Territory and Indian Territory. Kansas Territory included portions of what would become eastern Colorado. Indian Territory later became Oklahoma. The map traces the route of the Santa Fe Trail, proposed routes for the Pacific Railway, and identifies military forts. The maps also provides information on geographical features.

The guide board, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: April 1873
This publication by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad was printed by the Atchison Steam Printing Company of Atchison, Kansas. It contains articles that are aimed at promoting the settlement of lands in the Arkansas River valley. There are numerous "letters to the editor" praising the rich natural features of the valley and predicting its abundant future. The publication contains advertisement from business establishments from most of the cities and towns along the route, many of which no longer exist.

Thomas J. Marsh to George L. Stearns
Creator: Marsh, Thomas J.
Date: August 11, 1857
In this letter Thomas J. Marsh writes to George L. Stearns regarding the departure of E.B. Whitman for the East, the upcoming elections in October and Marsh's fear that the Free State men will not have a fair chance to vote. A searchable, full-text version of this letter is available by clicking "Text Version" below.

Thomas J. Marsh to George L. Stearns
Creator: Marsh, Thomas J.
Date: August 27, 1857
This letter from Thomas J. Marsh to George L. Stearns regards the political delegate convention in Grasshopper Falls, Kansas which, according to Marsh, was well-attended by all portions of the territory. The letter discusses preventive measures that the Free State party planned to take in order to ensure fair elections, including utilizing a poll book. Election fraud was common in the Kansas Territory as Missourians poured into the state on election day in support of proslavery legislators. The letter ends with a note claiming that Governor Charles Robinson gave Marsh $200 for the Free State cause, which was forwarded on by Amos Lawrence. A searchable, full-text version of this letter is available by clicking "Text Version" below.

Thomas J. Marsh to George L. Stearns
Creator: Marsh, Thomas J.
Date: September 2, 1857
This letter from Thomas J. Marsh to George L. Stearns regards the ways in which Free State men will vote in the upcoming elections. Marsh claimed that the Free State men relied on Governor Robert Walker's promises for a fair election, but could not rely on the military organizations of General James Lane. Marsh also detailed the request submitted to Governor Robert Walker by the Territorial Executive Committee regarding territorial elections and the qualifications of voters. A searchable, full-text version of this letter is available by clicking "Text Version" below.

Thomas L. Marsh to George L. Stearns
Creator: Marsh, Thomas J.
Date: September 7, 1857
Thomas L. Marsh wrote this letter to George L. Stearns detailing the lack of response received from Governor Robert Walker concerning the territorial elections. He also expresses his anger over a speech that Walker was giving to the secessionist Southern Fire Eaters on affairs in Kansas, and mentions the people of Lecompton and their "Plantation Manners." The letter ends with an account of money paid in support of the Free State cause. A searchable, full-text version of this letter is available by clicking "Text Version" below.